GRANVILLE, Ohio (Oct. 5) – Behind a well-balanced performance, the Denison University volleyball team secured a North Coast Athletic Conference win over visiting Hiram College in four sets Saturday afternoon at Livingston Gymnasium.
The win improves the Big Red to 2-0 in North Coast Athletic Conference play and 8-9 overall. The loss drops the Terriers to 1-1 in league action and 7-10 overall.
Denison 3, Hiram 1 (25-14, 22-25, 25-20, 27-25)
Four members of the Big Red reached double-digit kills during the victory.
Claire Hamilton turned in another strong offensive performance. The sophomore outside finished with the match-high 19 kills.
Sophomore outside hitter
Ayla Dunbar tallied 17 kills, 12 digs, three blocks and two service aces to fill the stat sheet.
Cailey Johns continued to be a presence in the middle. The senior notched 10 kills and a team-high five blocks in the victory.
Maeve Perry chipped in 10 kills.
Alice Kempf finished with 51 assists and 15 digs in another solid all-around effort by the junior setter.
Defensively, junior libero
Sadie Habeeb led the defensive efforts with a match-high 25 digs. Sophomore defensive specialist
Ryan Kotalik added 12 digs as Denison rolled up 84 digs as a team in the victory.
The Big Red built an early advantage and dominated the opening set. A pair of kills by Hamilton followed by an ace by Dunbar gave Denison an 8-3 lead. A little later the lead swelled to nine points (14-5) when the Big Red put up five-straight points including a pair of kills by Perry. The Denison lead moved into double figures three times before a pair of kills by
Katy McCaffrey finished off the set one win.
Denison jumped out to an early lead again in set two. However, the Terriers picked things up defensively to chip away at the deficit before eventually taking the lead. Hiram scored six of seven points to push in front by a 19-15 margin. Hiram led by multiple points for the remainder of the second set before evening up the match with a 25-22 win.
The Big Red rode the hot hand of Hamilton, who helped the hosts build a 14-6 lead following a 6-1 spurt. Hiram would trim the deficit to five points, but Denison had an answer with five-straight points of their own, which included consecutive kills by Perry. Dunbar eventually finished off the set win for Denison with a kill to put the score at 25-20.
The fourth set was the most sought after of the match. The final set featured 15 ties and seven lead changes. Denison gained some separation with three-straight points to take a 21-18 advantage. Hiram countered with five of the next seven points to even the score at 23 all. Following ties at 24 and 25, Hamilton registered the final two points to give Denison a 27-25 set win to earn the match victory.
Denison finished with advantages in kills (63-40), assists (61-37) and digs (84-73). Hiram led in total blocks (11-7).
Up Next: Denison hits the road for another NCAC match on Wednesday, Oct. 9 as they face the College of Wooster at 7 p.m.
